Breast Health

Coffee May Protect Against Aggressive Breast Cancer

Go brew yourself another cup of coffee - you may be lowering your risk for an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Swedish researchers found that women who consumed five or more cups of coffee a day had a significantly lower risk for ER-negative breast cancer. This aggressive type of breast cancer is not tied to the hormone estrogen. Coffee consumption didn't affect the risk for ER-positive breast cancer, a cancer type that's fueled by estrogen.

"Now, we don't have all the details," says Per Hal, Ph.D., at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. "We don't know, for example, what specific type of coffee we're talking about here. But what we do know is that the protective effect is quite striking and remains even after adjusting for a lot of other factors that have the potential to play a protective role."

Large-scale study

Nearly 6,000 Swedish women ages 50 to 74 were involved in the study. About half had breast cancer.

After assessing lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity, and other health aspects such as family history and body mass index, the researchers found a striking difference among women who drank coffee. Those who consumed five or more cups a day had a 33 to 57 percent lower risk for ER-negative breast cancer than women who had less than one cup of coffee a day.

Dr. Hal says more research is needed to find out why coffee makes such a difference. "I would like to know what is the biological mechanism at work here," he says. "And that's not yet clear."

What's exciting about the results is that they may help improve breast cancer treatment. Currently, women with ER-negative breast cancer have few options for treatment.

"The next step is to find out what chemical factors in coffee cause the decreased rate of cancer and then attempt to see if these same chemicals can be used to treat a patient," says Stephanie Bernik, M.D., at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Always talk with your health care provider to find out more information.

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July 2011

Breast Cancer: What's Your Risk?

Your risk for breast cancer increases as you get older - two out of three women with breast cancer are diagnosed after age 55. You're also at higher risk if you have a family history of the disease, if you have dense tissue, or if you began menstruating before age 12.

Here are lifestyle choices that also can affect your breast cancer risk:

Not having children, or having your first child after age 30

Recent use (within 10 years) of oral contraceptives

Physical inactivity

More than one alcoholic drink a day

Long-term use of combined estrogen and progestin after menopause

Weight gain and obesity, especially after menopause

Always talk with your health care provider to find out more information.